Tennessee wide receiver Pig Howard (2) attempts to run past Mississippi defensive back Mike Hilton (28) after a short pass reception in their game in Oxford, Miss., Saturday, Oct. 18, 2014.OXFORD, Miss. - For a little while it was ugly in a good way for Tennessee on a crisp Saturday night at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
Then it just turned ugly for the Volunteers.
Seeking their first road win against a ranked team since 2006, the Vols were leading third-ranked Ole Miss midway through the second quarter until it all came unraveled. The Rebels ran away from Tennessee in a 34-3 SEC win in front of the third-largest crowd in program history.
After holding its own for a while, Tennessee saw its chances of a massive upset suffocated by an Ole Miss defense that entered the game leading the SEC in fewest points allowed (11.8) and interceptions (12).
The Rebels improved both of those categories in continuing their impressive season, which included a win against Alabama and a road romp at Texas A&M heading into the program's first meeting with the Vols since 2010, a 52-14 Tennessee win in Knoxville.
Ole Miss (7-0, 4-0) is off to its best start since a 10-0 beginning in 1962, while Tennessee (3-4, 0-3) will have to try to rebound from another road loss against a ranked team this Saturday against Alabama. The Crimson Tide will bring offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin back to Knoxville for the first time since he left the Vols for Southern California after his one-year Tennessee coaching stint in 2009.
For a while Saturday night, it looked as if Ole Miss, nearly a 17-point favorite, would be in for a dogfight, but the Vols allowed seven sacks - they've now allowed 30 for the season - and committed four turnovers that doomed them.
Tennessee's defense began the game with brimming confidence and forced Ole Miss to go three-and-out on its first three possessions.
The Vols were content with playing good defense and trying to control field position, and Ole Miss started its first seven possessions at its own 25-yard line or worse.
At the end of a scoreless first quarter, the teams had combined for five first downs and eight punts.
The Rebels had just 32 yards off offense with less than six minutes left in the first half when quarterback Bo Wallace, who started 4-of-15 passing for just 43 yards, hit Vince Sanders on back-to-back plays of 28 and 39 yards against Tennessee freshman cornerback Emmanuel Moseley.
On Tennessee's next series, Justin Worley's deep pass was intercepted by Senquez Golson, and his return gave the Rebels a short field with which to take a 14-3 lead.
After Ole Miss missed 52-yard field-goal try following some iffy clock management to end the first half, Tennessee had a chance to pull within a single score with the opening possession of the third quarter.
The Vols drove to the Ole Miss 28-yard line thanks to an 18-yard pass to freshman receiver Josh Malone and a 17-yard Jalen Hurd run, but Malone was thrown for a 9-yard loss on a double reverse that knocked Tennessee out of range for a long field goal.
Tennessee's next series ended in another Golson interception, but the Vols' defense continued to keep them in the game.
Jaylen Walton's 40-yard run set up an Ole Miss field goal, and the Rebels forced a turnover on special teams to put the game out of reach.
DeMarquis Gates popped a turnover out of Evan Berry, the Vols' freshman kick returner, an Wallace, who grew up in Tennessee as a Vols fan but never was recruited much out of Giles County High School or East Mississippi Community College by Tennessee's former two staffs, hit tight end Evan Engram to put the game away.
The Vols' maligned offensive line had another night to forget, as Tennessee had minus-11 rushing yards at halftime and was in negative-yardage deep into the fourth quarter. Hurd did have 40 yards on 13 carries.
Tennessee also lost a couple of offensive linemen, with right tackle Coleman Thomas and left guard Marcus Jackson leaving the game.
Ole Miss entered the game with just 11 sacks on the season, but the talented group added to that tally. Tennessee gave up three sacks on second downs of 10, 10 and 7 yards, but there were two sacks on first-and-10.
The continuing offensive ineptitude, albeit against probably the stoutest defense it will face this season, overshadowed a gritty effort by Tennessee's defense, which was undone by big plays.
The Vols had allowed just 16 plays of 20-plus yards in their first six games, but the Rebels piled up five of them, including touchdown passes of 39 and 28 yards, for most of their offensive output.
Tennessee freshman Derek Barnett had four tackles for loss and linebacker A.J. Johnson and defensive end Corey Vereen each had 1.5 sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss, but the Vols were unable to force any turnovers.
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com
Tweets by @MocsBeat